The people of Charleston built a memorial and planned a vigil Friday to repudiate whatever a gunman would hope to accomplish by killing nine black community leaders inside one of the nation’s most important African-American churches.
Worshippers gather to pray down the street from the Emanuel AME Church following a shooting Wednesday, June 17, 2015, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
“A hateful person came to this community with some crazy idea he’d be able to divide, but all he did was unite us and make us love each other even more,” Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. said as he described plans for an evening vigil at a sports arena near the church.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said the state will “absolutely” want the death penalty for Dylann Storm Roof, who allegedly opened fire after sitting through a Wednesday night Bible study session inside the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.
A steady stream of people brought flowers and notes and shared somber thoughts at a growing memorial in front of the church, which President Barack Obama called “a sacred place in the history of Charleston and in the history of America.”
Below is a selection of images by Associated Press photographer David Goldman covering the unfolding events in Charleston.
Click on any image below to launch the gallery.
The sun begins to rise behind the steeple of Emanuel AME Church, Thursday, June 18, 2015, in Charleston, S.C. On Wednesday, a white man opened fire during a prayer meeting inside the historic black church, killing multiple people, including the pastor, in an assault that authorities described as a hate crime. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Gary and Aurelia Washington, center left and right, the son and granddaughter of Ethel Lance who died in Wednesday’s shooting, leave a sidewalk memorial in front of Emanuel AME Church comforted by fellow family members Thursday, June 18, 2015, in Charleston, S.C. Dylann Storm Roof, 21, was arrested Thursday in the slayings of several people, including the pastor at a prayer meeting inside the historic black church. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A woman walks to work on Thursday, June 18, 2015, a few blocks away from the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C. A white man opened fire during a prayer meeting inside the historic black church Wednesday night, killing several people. The shooter remained at large Thursday morning and police released photographs from surveillance video of a suspect and a possible getaway vehicle. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Olina Ortega, left, and Austin Gibbs light candles at a sidewalk memorial in front of Emanuel AME Church where people were killed by a white gunman Wednesday during a prayer meeting inside the historic black church in Charleston, S.C., Thursday, June 18, 2015. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Lisa Doctor joins a prayer circle early Thursday, June 18, 2015, down the street from Emanuel AME Church following a shooting Wednesday night in Charleston, S.C. A white man opened fire during a prayer meeting inside the historic black church, killing multiple people, including the pastor, in an assault that authorities described as a hate crime. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A law enforcement official sits in her car while blocking off a section of Calhoun Street near the Emanuel AME Church early Thursday, June 18, 2015 following a shooting Wednesday night in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Walter Jackson, right, the son of Susie Jackson who died in Wednesday’s shooting, recalls stories about her during a family gathering at Jackson’s home Thursday, June 18, 2015, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
ArQuadious Holmes, 9, the great-grandnephew of Susie Jackson who died in Wednesday’s shooting, plays hide and seek as Jackson’s niece, Sherry Capers, leans against a car during a family gathering outside Jackson’s home Thursday, June 18, 2015, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Peggy Blake shows off a sign she made to family members of Susie Jackson, who died in Wednesday’s shooting, as she walks through her neighborhood to a sidewalk memorial outside the Emanuel AME Church Thursday, June 18, 2015, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Noah Nicolaisen, of Charleston, S.C., kneels at a makeshift memorial, Thursday, June 18, 2015, down the street from where a man opened fire Wednesday night during a prayer meeting inside the Emanuel AME Church, killing several people in what authorities are calling a hate crime. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Najee Washington holds a photo of her grandmother Ethel Lance, one of the nine people killed in Wednesday’s shooting at Emanuel AME Church, as she poses for a portrait outside her home Friday, June 19, 2015, in Charleston, S.C. “She cared for everyone. She took care of people. She would give her last to anyone,” said Washington. “That’s what she was and that’s what she’ll always be.” (AP Photo/David Goldman)
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